New signage and building wrap for Wildlife Thrift Store in central Vancouver, Canada. All the signage was hand-painted, the store was in desperate need of a facelift, the exterior was tired and uninviting. Designing a corner wrap around signage solution brough a unique angle to the building and stands out from all the surrounding businesses.

Taking note that the location of the building is on a very busy 4-way junction after a busy bridge into downtown Vancouver. It really needed something unique to make it stand out above the visual noise of such a busy street. My solution to that was to wrap the name around the corner of the store. instantly becoming much more recognisable and memorable. Add clean colours, multiple brand messages around the building tied together with consistent type treatments and a fun and inviting aesthetic.

All the signage was designed digitally first, mocked up and presented to the client, then from there the work was drawn on to the walls and hand painted. The whole process took around 5 days to produce, painting with 3 people.

The overall reaction from the locals was very positive, it transformed the front of the building to something unrecognisable. I learnt the power of not always over-delivering but just completing something really well during this project. I had so many grander plans when really they just needed simple strong and creative.

The store had its best year ever in 25 years during the 12 months following the work

Alex Fowkes

Hi, I’m Alex James Fowkes, an award-winning graphic designer specialising in typography, murals and installations.
Born in the U.K and currently having completed projects across Europe, North America and Asia, Alex is no stranger to travel and working; Believing that experimentation and play are essential parts of the design process. He enjoys responding to physical environments with typography and graphic artwork with a belief that “on surface, artwork commands attention like no other”.

Not only competent in murals and installations Alex works with logo branding, packaging, advertising, illustration, infographics and most other arms of graphic design. Being a “visual problem solver at the source allows you to tackle any design brief”.

Alex has been fortunate enough to author two books on typography with Rockport Publishing ‘Drawing Type’ and ‘Expressive Type’. He has created mammoth typographic installations and murals, crafted international advertising campaigns and collaborated with some of the best creative studios out there.

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